Nerello Cappuccio

Nerello Mascalese's less famous cousin, they are both genetic mutations from the same Nerello parent family. Like it's cousin, it is late-ripening with high tannin & acid, making wines suited for ageing.

Wines made from the two Nerellos in combination tend to have savory, earthy flavors, which have earned them a reputation as being slightly Burgundian. This combines with a heady perfume – more Piedmontese than Burgundian – of red cherries and roses.

The two varieties often grow side-by-side, most commonly in the volcanic soils around Mount Etna, for Etna DOC wine and on the La Piana di Catania plain just to the south. At the very northeastern tip of Sicily, where the island comes within a mile or two of mainland Italy, the pair are again found together in the hills above the port of Messina. Here they are grown for use in the powerful, yet graceful, red wines sold under the Faro DOC title. Across the Strait of Messina in Calabria, a number of little-known DOCs permit the blend in their red wines. Among these are Lamezia, Sant'Anna di Isola Capo Rizzuto and Savuto.

Both Nerello Cappuccio and Nerello Mascalese can be produced as varietal wines, but they are more commonly blended together to combine their relative merits